Why I Get Fat Around The Holidays

[BeauV]

After 65 times around the sun, I'm now convinced that Gary Taubes is right and I get fat almost entirely due to carbohydrates. Recent article on the topic HERE. We have so many medical experts here, I was wondering what they think? Are carbs the problem generally. I can sure track weight gain directly to carb intake holding most other things constant, such as sloth-like behaviour and total calories.

[Olaf Hart]

Different people have different metabolisms.

If you have a carb problem, you are likely to benefit more from activity as well.

I don't use the term "exercise" because it adds pain and sweating to the equation, but it is he best form of activity.

Do you have a step counter on your iPhone? You might want to look at the holiday trends in that as well.

We were regularly getting more than 30,000 steps a day cruising around the PNW. Our daily target is over 10,000.
Our average for two months of "cruising" was around 25,000, it's really about living without a car.

It is clear that there is no longer a "one size fits all" approach to advice on diet, diabetes, and cholesterol.

I just read the article, it is sort of right, but it misses the point that metabolic syndrome is about activity, not about diet.

If you want to turn off the hunger switch the most effective food is protein, but you might notice that exercise does this as well. Try facing a meal after exercising, I can't do it.

[JoeP]

I think Taubes is right in that sugar is relatively bad for us to eat, but it is not the sole reason for becoming obese. A sedentary lifestyle and a diet rich in other carbs is part of the problem as well. Regulating the quantity and type of calories we consume and then exercising enough to burn off calories is important. I have fought obesity my entire life and as a result have type 2 diabetes. I have dieted my entire life and because of my diabetes I stayed far away from sugar and really reduced my intake of other carbs but still gained weight.. Only now am I beginning to figure out what I need to do to drop lbs successfully. Most of it deals with educating myself to realistically assess the relationship between portion size and calories for given foods and exercising. Since April I have lost 35 lbs and continue to lose. I have done this by weighing my food and keeping track of it on a phone app (I use Lose It!, there are others) and by exercising more. I eat more protein and less carbs (similar to the Mediterranean diet). Mental state is very important too. I used to beat myself up about my weight and that led to depression which led to more eating. A terrible cycle to find yourself in. In this regard being overweight is akin to an addiction ( maybe to sugar? ) I finally hit a low spot last April which forced me to make a serious evaluation of myself. That and talking to my barber who had lost a lot of weight by 'just not eating as much' led me to the realization that I could do it. Now I shrug it off if I gain a little and focus on the good things which have come my way as I lose such as better mobility, better sleep, cutting my diabetes meds in half and dropping my blood pressure medicine altogether. There's a whole lot more I could say but really for me it was more than one thing that made me fat and I just made a lifestyle adjustment instead of "going on a diet".

Oh, and as for those people who feel that laziness is the cause of obesity or who make fun of or discriminate against fat people (yes, it does happen, a lot) I say fuck off (Edit: sorry about that, i got a little hot under the collar).

Edit: Yes Olaf, I agree with what you say.

[Orestes Munn]

Yeah, obesity isn't a disease or a personal failing, just a common human response to the modern environment.

[BeauV]

Joe, thank you for that, it must be tough to fight it. Our oldest daughter has fought weight since she went through puberty. For her, it is "all of the above" meaning: Portion control, very low carbs, removing a lot of dairy, and exercise. Having my wonderful daughter fight this for decades has ended any thought that weight gain like this is easy to stop. It's not.

All that said, I keep looking at things like apples. When I was a kid, they were about 1/3 the size they are now. Soft drinks, when I was a kid they were about 1/2 the size they are now. Burgers, etc... etc... etc....

Personally, the key is to set a goal of surviving on the least amount of food I can. I have to stop eating long before I feel full. Steaks need to be smaller than my palm, and all sorts of other tricks. But the biggest one is to get rid of the sugar and starchs.

[Orestes Munn]

My wife and daughter are pretty fat too. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[JoeP]

Oh yeah, the portions served at restaurants are rediculously large these days. More and more my wife and I share a single entree. If rice or potatoes are part of a dinner at a restaurant I will substitute a vegetable. Some people, perhaps correctly, eschew artifical sweeteners in sodas but when I do have a soda the healthier choice is to have a "diet" soda.

I set my goal by determining how many calories it would take to maintain my ideal weight at a semi active level. I then set that as my limit in my app. Most of the time I stay 100-200 calories under the limit. I went up a bit over the holidays but am on the way back down now. I need to start adding more exercise now.

By thr way, you can buy bags of small apples at some supermarket's around here. Maybe the same thing down there?

Your daughter may like to try an app like the one I use. In mine you can scan the bar code of a food item to get the nutritional data plus it has a huge library foods built in. That and a scale (which I forgot to mention previously) really help to equate portion size to calories which is very important to changing the way you think about food.

[kimbottles]

Interesting!

After the lead melt today, Bob, Steve, Emma and I went to the little hidden away cafe at the airfield across the highway from Steve's house.

I noticed that the place was VERY crowded and everyone except Steve and Emma looked like retired folk. (Even Bob looks like a retired folk, although he is still quite busy.)

Then my fish and chips arrived and it was maybe the smallest portion I have seen recently at a cafe. I was delighted to have it small as I tend to eat everything on my plate, and their portion allowed me to do so with less of a chance of overeating.

It dawned on me that the portions were geared to their obvious clientele. Wish more restaurants would cut back on the portions!! (Fortunately we don't eat out that often.)

Susan uses "Lose it".

[kdh]

I was just talking to Ann about this. I've never been more than 145 lbs, but have always had some belly fat. I decided recently, like two weeks ago, to try to lose it. It's been surprisingly easy. I cut back on sugar, carbs, and alcohol, but allow a calorie load periodically, like tonight's pasta for dinner and significant quantities of wine.

It's working. I feel better generally. A guy at the gym says it works for him, and that's obvious.

Two things I avoid. 1) Feeling hungry. 2) Anything to do with food: advertisements, the smell of food, unless I'm about to eat. I think this invokes an insulin response and a craving for calories.

[Orestes Munn]

I think this invokes an insulin response and a craving for calories.

It does.

[BeauV]

First - Cut back on Alcohol!! EEEKKK!!!! (I actually agree with this)

Second - Why do you think that folks in burger joints blow the smoke out of the street!

[Tigger]

How many calories in a medium sized apple? 80--plus fibre and other goodies.

How many calories in a Tim Horton's Honey Cruller (sadly, my favourite donut)? 320. Next question!

Cut back on booze, do some cardio, add weight training to build muscle mass that burns calories, get a good night's sleep, and stay away from prepared foods. If you can, add as much walking as possible. Park in the farthest spot in the lot, take the stairs, buy a backpack and walk for as many errands as possible. You don't have to eat salt pork and hard tack--you can have a great rib steak--for example, an 8 oz rib steak is between 400-500 calories. Just don't eat the whole thing--save some for a chef's salad the next lunch. Lets see, 2 donuts or a prime cut of beef with a roast potato and lots of veggies?

I use 'My Fitness Pal' to keep track of calories, and 'Runtastic' to keep track of how far I've gone if I'm running outside. Note that Runtastic calculates calories assuming you are running--so if you go for a long walk, the calorie data will be inflated. For me, the 'sweet spot' is losing between 1 and 1.5 pounds per week with lots of cardio and weights.